The Grandi Experience

How do you build a world class esports media company that produces premium tournaments, global live events, and broadcast experiences watched by millions? In this episode, Edoardo Grandi speaks with Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST, one of the most influential organizations in modern esports and competitive entertainment.BLAST has become a global leader in tournament production, live event IP, and high end broadcast technology, delivering formats across Counter Strike, Rainbow Six, Fortnite, and multiple publisher partnered ecosystems. Under Robbie’s leadership, BLAST has scaled from a single tournament series into a multi vertical media powerhouse operating in over 150 countries with distribution in 32 languages.Robbie explains how BLAST was built, what problem he saw in the esports events landscape, and why he believes the future of competitive gaming sits at the intersection of media, technology, and live entertainment. We discuss how BLAST structures its business model, how revenue enters the company, and what makes an esports media organization investable in today’s market.We also explore the growth outlook for esports in 2026, including consolidation, new technologies, and the global investment trends shaping the next decade of competitive entertainment. If you work in gaming, esports, or digital media, this conversation will help you understand how a modern events and production company scales internationally and where the next wave of opportunity will emerge.What we coverHow BLAST was founded and the insight behind its global expansionHow the business model works across events, media rights, sponsorships, and IPWhat makes an esports media company investable in 2026How BLAST produces world class tournaments and live entertainment formatsThe biggest tailwinds shaping the gaming and esports industryHow consolidation, AR and XR, and global investment trends will impact events and media companiesThe long term opportunities in global esports production and distributionThe social and community role of esports events for players, fans, and cities🎙️ Guest: Robbie Douek, CEO, BLAST📩 Contact Edoardo: [email protected]🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com

How do you build a modern esports organization in a market that is still early, fragmented, and full of opportunity?

In this episode, Edoardo Grandi speaks with Emanuele Acerbis, the co founder and CEO of NOVO Esports, one of Italy’s most ambitious competitive gaming organizations. NOVO was founded in 2023 and is already active across multiple top titles including Brawl Stars, Rocket League, VALORANT, EA SPORTS FC, League of Legends, Call of Duty, Teamfight Tactics, and Street Fighter.

The organization has achieved early competitive success, including sweeping major European teams in Brawl Stars and becoming the defending champions of the Italian Rocket Championship.

Emanuele explains how NOVO was created, what problem he saw in the Italian esports landscape, and why he believes the next generation of gaming organizations must combine competitive performance, brand building, and community development.

We discuss how NOVO structures its business model, how revenue enters the company, and what makes an esports organization investable in today’s market.

We also explore the growth outlook for esports in 2026, including consolidation, new technologies, and the opportunities that most people still overlook.If you work in gaming, esports, or digital entertainment, this conversation will help you understand how a modern organization is built from the ground up and where the next decade of growth will come from.

What we coverHow NOVO Esports was founded and the early insight behind the company

How the business model works and how revenue is generated

What makes an esports organization investable in 2026

The competitive structure across NOVO’s titles including Brawl Stars, Rocket League, VALORANT, EA SPORTS FC, and League of Legends

The biggest tailwinds shaping the gaming and esports industry

How consolidation, AR and XR, and global investment trends will impact organizations

The long term opportunities in Italian and European esportsThe social and educational role of gaming for young players, academies, and communities

🎙️ Guest: Emanuele Acerbis, Co Founder and CEO, NOVO Esports

📩 Contact Edoardo: [email protected]🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com

How do you build AI systems that help athletes make better financial decisions, avoid common money traps, and create long term stability in a career defined by volatility and short earning windows?

In this episode, Edoardo Grandi sits down with Mayer Reich, founder and CEO of Prosperity AI and one of the most experienced product builders in fintech and AI. Mayer has spent more than twenty years creating and scaling digital products, co founding four startups and helping them surpass a combined 100 million dollars in revenue.

Mayer explains how Prosperity AI is developing financial intelligence tools designed specifically for athletes, including systems that analyze spending behavior, model long term financial outcomes, and translate complex financial concepts into simple, actionable guidance. He also shares lessons from his time as Chief Marketing Officer at Seeking Alpha, where he helped scale the platform to more than 10 million monthly active users.

We explore how he built RankAbove, the SEO platform used by Fortune 500 companies, how he approaches go to market strategy for AI products, and why athletes require a different financial intelligence framework than traditional retail users. Mayer breaks down the principles behind Prosperity AI’s product philosophy and how they apply to the next generation of athlete financial tools.

If you work with athletes, invest in athlete‑driven businesses, or operate around fintech and AI, this conversation will change how you think about financial education, product design, and the future of athlete financial intelligence.

What we cover

1. How Prosperity AI was founded and why athletes need dedicated financial intelligence tools

2. Lessons from scaling Seeking Alpha to more than 10 million monthly active users

3. How AI can help athletes understand spending, risk, and long term planning

4. The story behind RankAbove and what it taught Mayer about enterprise scale product building

5. How to design AI products using a go to market strategy that actually works

6. The future of athlete financial intelligence and where the next opportunities will emerge

🎙️ Guest: Mayer Reich, Founder and CEO of Prosperity AI🌐 Prosperity AI: prosperity.ai📩 Interested in collaborating or appearing on The Sport Businessman Contact Edoardo at [email protected]🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com

How do you turn the fastest growing sport in America into a commercial product that attracts major brands, national sponsors, and mainstream media attention?

In this episode, Edoardo Grandi sits down with Ben Shapiro, founder and CEO of PIVOT Agency and one of the most influential commercial operators in pickleball. Ben is the architect behind the sport’s biggest sponsorship deals, the creator of the Celebrity Pickleball Bash, and a former Golden State Warriors executive who brought NBA‑level marketing discipline into a young and fast‑moving sport.

Ben explains how the Celebrity Pickleball Bash blends sport and pop culture to reach new audiences, why pairing professional players with celebrities accelerates adoption, and how timing events around major sports weekends maximizes visibility. He also breaks down how PIVOT Agency built the sponsorship strategy for the PPA Tour, bringing in national brands such as DoorDash and Guaranteed Rate and helping establish the financial foundation of the professional circuit.

We also explore how pickleball is transitioning from an amateur phenomenon to a commercial media product, what broadcasters are looking for, and how the sport can sustain long term growth through events, storytelling, and brand partnerships.

If you own, invest in, or operate around pickleball, this conversation will change how you think about sponsorship, media, and the business architecture behind the sport’s expansion.

What we cover

1. How PIVOT Agency became the commercial engine behind professional pickleball

2. The creation of the Celebrity Pickleball Bash and why pickletainment works

3. How major brands evaluate sponsorship opportunities in emerging sports

4. The commercial strategy behind the PPA Tour and its national partners

5. How pickleball is evolving into a broadcast and media product

6. Lessons from the NBA and how they apply to the future of pickleball

🎙️ Guest: Ben Shapiro, Founder and CEO of PIVOT Agency🌐 PIVOT Agency: pivotagency.com

📩 Interested in collaborating or appearing on The Sport Businessman

Contact Edoardo at [email protected]

🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com

How do you scale the fastest growing sport in America by building both the digital layer and the physical infrastructure it needs to grow?

In this episode, Edoardo Grandi sits down with Daren Hornig, a New York real estate investor and technology entrepreneur who has become one of the most influential builders in pickleball. Daren is the founder and CEO of CourtsApp, the AI powered booking platform known as the Expedia of racquet sports, and the Principal behind SPORTIME Pickleball, one of the largest dedicated facility development projects in the United States.

Daren explains how CourtsApp solves one of the sport’s biggest inefficiencies by connecting players to available courts in real time and by using Courtney, an AI assistant that automates scheduling, operations, and yield management for clubs. He also breaks down how his real estate background led to the creation of SPORTIME Pickleball, a joint venture that plans to open more than a dozen dedicated pickleball centers by 2027.

We also explore the redevelopment of the historic Port Washington Tennis Academy, which Daren acquired and transformed into a modern pickleball hub with 12 dedicated courts after an 8 million dollar renovation. The conversation covers the economics of facility development, the digital infrastructure required for scalable participation, and why pickleball is becoming a long term real estate and technology opportunity.

If you own, invest in, or operate around pickleball, this conversation will change how you think about facilities, technology, and the future of the sport’s infrastructure.

What we cover

1. How CourtsApp was created and why the sport needed a digital booking platform

2. How the AI assistant Courtney improves scheduling, operations, and club management

3. The strategy behind SPORTIME Pickleball and the plan to build dedicated centers across the Northeast

4. The redevelopment of the Port Washington Tennis Academy and its role in the sport’s growth

5. How real estate, technology, and participation trends intersect in pickleball

6. Where the next major infrastructure opportunities will emerge as the sport scales

🎙️ Guest: Daren Hornig, Founder and CEO of CourtsApp, Principal of SPORTIME Pickleball🌐 CourtsApp: courtsapp.com📩 Interested in collaborating or appearing on The Sport Businessman Contact Edoardo at [email protected]🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com

How do you build the global rating system for the fastest growing sport in the world, and what does it take to standardize competitive play across 150 countries?

In this episode, Edoardo Grandi sits down with Gilberto “Tito” Machado, CEO and President of DUPR, the platform that provides pickleball’s universal skill rating. DUPR now supports more than 1.7 million players and 12,000 clubs, giving the sport a single, trusted metric for competitive balance across the entire ecosystem.

Tito explains how DUPR evolved from a small, early stage concept into the sport’s global infrastructure layer, why the 2.2 algorithm was a breakthrough for rating accuracy, and how expected score modeling prevents inflation, deflation, and rating manipulation. He also breaks down how DUPR is shaping the future of tournaments, collegiate competition, and the regulatory standards required for legalized sports betting.

We also explore the commercial architecture behind DUPR’s growth, how the platform scaled internationally, and why accurate skill verification is becoming one of the most valuable assets in the sport.

If you own, invest in, or operate around pickleball, this conversation will change how you think about ratings, competition, and the future of the sport’s global infrastructure.

What we cover

1. How DUPR was built and why the sport needed a universal rating system

2. How the DUPR 2.2 algorithm works and why expected score modeling matters

3. How accurate ratings support tournaments, collegiate play, and amateur competition

4. The role of data in securing regulatory approval for sports betting

5. How DUPR scaled to 1.7 million players and 12,000 clubs worldwide

6. The commercial model behind DUPR and where the platform is heading next

🎙️ Guest: Gilberto “Tito” Machado, CEO and President of DUPR🌐 DUPR: mydupr.com

📩 Interested in collaborating or appearing on The Sport Businessman Contact Edoardo at [email protected]

🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com

How did one producer redefine how the world watches sport and turn niche competitions into global entertainment IP?

In this episode, Edoardo Grandi sits down with James Gay‑Rees, the multi award winning producer behind Senna, Amy, Diego Maradona, and the global phenomenon Formula 1: Drive to Survive. As co founder of Box to Box Films, James helped create a new category of sports storytelling built on access, character, and narrative structure. This approach reshaped how fans engage with sports and how leagues think about global audience growth.

James explains how Drive to Survive transformed Formula 1 from a specialist motorsport into a mainstream global product, why human drama outperforms technical detail, and how the same blueprint now underpins hit series across golf (Full Swing), tennis (Break Point), rugby (Six Nations: Full Contact), and cycling (Tour de France: Unchained).

We also explore the economics behind modern sports docuseries, how access is negotiated, how rights holders think about storytelling as a growth lever, and why the next decade will see every major sport compete for global attention through premium documentary formats.

If you own, invest in, or operate within sports, media, or entertainment, this conversation will change how you think about storytelling, audience development, and the value of behind the scenes IP.

What we cover

1. How Box to Box Films was built and why access driven storytelling works

2. The making of Drive to Survive and how it reshaped Formula 1’s global audience

3. Why human centred narratives outperform traditional sports broadcasting

4. Expanding the model to golf, tennis, rugby, and cycling and what changes sport to sport

5. The economics of access and how teams, leagues, and rights holders think about documentary value

6. The future of sports storytelling and where the next major docuseries opportunities will emerge

🎙️ Guest: James Gay‑Rees, Co Founder of Box to Box Films

🌐 Box to Box Films: boxtoboxfilms.com

📩 Interested in collaborating or appearing on The Sport Businessman Contact Edoardo at [email protected]

🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com

How are the best football clubs in the world deciding which players to sign and which to sell?In this episode, Edoardo Grandi sits down with Furkan Yagiz, Chief Operations Officer of Comparisonator, the AI football analytics platform tracking over 200,000 players across 271 leagues worldwide.Furkan breaks down how the platform started from a single Excel spreadsheet built by a chief scout at Bursa Spor and evolved into the AI intelligence layer used by clubs including Besiktas, Trabzonspor, FC Dallas, and LA Galaxy.We cover exactly how AI is changing the decisions that matter most inside a football club: which players to sign, when to sell, how to build a squad on a limited budget, and what jobs inside clubs will be replaced by autonomous AI agents in the next five to ten years.We also get into women's football, why Comparisonator built a dedicated analytics product for the women's game, and why the data already shows this is one of the most significant investment opportunities in sport right now.If you own, invest in, or work around football clubs, this conversation will change how you think about every transfer decision you make.What we cover:1. How Comparisonator was founded and what problem it was built to solve2. How AI simulates a player's performance in a new league before you sign them3. Which jobs inside football clubs AI agents will replace in the next decade4. Why women's football data requires a completely different analytical framework5. How player agents are now using data to sell their clients to clubs6. The commercial model: from consulting firm to SaaS to AI agent platform🎙️ Guest: Furkan Yagiz, Co-Founder of Comparisonator🌐 Comparisonator: comparisonator.com📩 Interested in collaborating or appearing on The Sport Businessman? Reach out at [email protected]🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment at sport-businessman.com

Sport Businessman is a platform built for investors to understand business models and investable opportunities across sport, media, and entertainment.We work with Private equity, family offices, and entrepreneurs targeting sports/media/entertainment opportunities across Europe and North America.For collaboration opportunities: [email protected]: sport-businessman.comOur main themes:• Building Generational Wealth• Succession Planning for Entrepreneurs • Acquiring Control + Scaling Businesses• Growth Equity in Sports/Media• Private Credit in Sports Finance#SportsFinance #SportsBusiness #SportsInvestingTrascrizione

Sport Businessman is a platform built for investors to understand business models and investable opportunities across sport, media, and entertainment.We work with Private equity, family offices, and entrepreneurs targeting sports/media/entertainment opportunities across Europe and North America.For collaboration opportunities: [email protected]: sport-businessman.comOur main themes:• Building Generational Wealth• Succession Planning for Entrepreneurs • Acquiring Control + Scaling Businesses• Growth Equity in Sports/Media• Private Credit in Sports Finance#SportsFinance #SportsBusiness #SportsInvesting